Church Planting Among Muslims | 310 | Report 5

The Muslim world is complex. But from the teeming cities of Southeast Asia, to the tribal villages of Central Africa, to the arid deserts of the Middle East, there is a common denominator in how God is working to
draw people to himself. Missions organisation Pioneers launched a video series that tells the story of what indigenous church planting looks like in the Muslim world. You can watch them on the Web at
http://www.pioneers.org/multiply/indonesia.aspx.

The first video is about a city in Indonesia where small groups of Muslim seekers and new believers are gathering to study the Bible, pray and then put their faith in action. “Is Jesus God?” This is the bottom-line question that Muslims are challenged to face, and they are asked to find the answer for themselves. Inevitably Jesus reveals Himself to those who seek Him, in vision, through
miracles and in His Word. 

Once a house church has grown to 12 members, it is encouraged to start another one. In the face of persecution, spiritual warfare and poverty, Jesus is building His church!

Source: Joel News International; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 107:7-9

PRAISE: God that He loves and saves the Muslim people of this world. Pray for great wisdom to reach out to them in ways that will feed their hunger for the living God.

Algeria: Quiet Advance of the Gospel | 309 | Report 27 & 28

Algeria is one of the most unreached nations in the world for the Gospel. The mostly Muslim North African country is comprised of only 0.1% evangelical Christians, according to the Joshua Project. Operation World says Algeria is home to 41 people groups, 85% of whom are unreached. It might seem hopeless upon first glance, but behind the scenes, the Gospel is moving at exponential rates. “What God is doing in Algeria today is totally unique in history,” says Operation Mobilization Algeria Field Leader, Youssef. “We have seen the power of God coming in amazing ways.”

Since Youssef and his wife, Hee Tee, from Malaysia, began the ministry of the House of Hope in Algeria in 1996, they have witnessed God change hundreds of lives. The country has one of the fastest-growing churches in the Muslim World. The church has a great deal of work to do, but Youssef and his team are making significant headway. Youssef himself comes from a conservative Muslim background, as do many of those who work with him, allowing them to relate easily with the demographic they are trying to reach.

After 15 years in Algeria, Youssef has been able to gather 40 adults to serve in the House of Hope’s 10 ministries. This group seeks to bring the Truth they’ve found to people around the country through radio and satellite television, sports ministry, church planting, training, and micro-enterprise business, among other things. While Christian witness is limited and literature is not widely available, radio and television reach nearly everyone. Some of the House of Hope teammates came to Christ themselves through TV and radio.

Several hundred seekers and new believers contact the team every month, often getting in touch through the phone number given during the radio or television programmes. Though offering a telephone number via satellite TV invites trouble, the team has been able to hear stories of how God is reaching people who might otherwise never have heard the Good News. The media work started in 2001 by filming seminars at the Bible school. Now, the media team produces over 200 radio programmes in local dialects and almost 200 television programmes with testimonies and teaching.

Many have heard about Christ for the first time from these programmes, and others have had visions of Jesus confirmed as they watch. “When I look back since 1996, the Lord has done great things,” says Youssef. “The team is doing a wonderful job, and God is moving in amazing ways. It is a dangerous mission. Algeria is ranked 22 on the Open Doors World Watch List for the persecuted church. Youssef and Hee Tee have been threatened by terrorists to cease their work.

Source:Open Doors; Mission Network News

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 13:30-34

Report 27 – PRAISE: God that the Gospel is changing amid such challenging and perilous circumstances.
Report 28 – PRAY: That Youssef and his team will be upheld and encouraged daily in their vital work.

Prayer Brings Jobs to London | 306 | Report 27

“Is there a spiritual realm, an unseen dimension to what happens here on earth? Or is spiritual warfare just our imagination?” asks house church planter Felicity Dale. She continues, “For many years we were involved in a church plant in the East End of London in the UK. At that point in time it was a very run-down, neglected area of around 120,000 people, and 93% government housing.
The unemployment rate was about 17%. Within our church, a network of home groups, we had maybe 10 or 12 people who had been out of work for some considerable time with no prospect of employment. As a fellowship we decided that this wasn’t just a natural problem but it had a spiritual component to it. So in one particular gathering, we put all the people who were looking for a job in the centre of the room, while the rest of us prayed for them. Someone suggested that we treat it like the battle of Jericho, so we actually marched round them 7 times, shouting praise to God the final time. Then we prayed for each person individually.
Were we crazy? It must have looked crazy to any outsider. But over the next few weeks, every one of those people found a job!”

Source: Joel News International

BIBLE STUDY: Jeremiah 33:1-3

PRAISE: God for His faithful answer to prayer. Pray that the Church may realise the power of prayer.

Easter Sees Iranian Baptisms | 306 | Report 26

The church in an Iranian city had been wiped out in the early 1900s, and there had been no Christian witness until just a few years ago when a Persian speaking church was planted there. This past Easter Sunday forty-one people were baptised there in a thriving church led by Elam graduates.
During a powerful service, twenty-six Iranians, fourteen Afghans, and one Iraqi shared their testimonies and glorified Christ. Families were baptised together. In one case a grandmother with her daughter and son in law and their two teenage boys were baptized, and in another, an Afghan lady with her five children who are in their twenties.

Source: Elam Ministries

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 8:26-40

PRAISE: God that the people of Iran are hungry for a personal relationship with the real God.

Is Church planting the Way Forward? | 305 | Report 14

In the past two decades, most US denominations have either lost members or experienced stagnant attendance, even though the U.S. population has increased by 60 million. The Assemblies of God is one denomination that has bucked the trend. Since 2007 the AG has realised that vigorous new church planting is a major means of growth and, in 2008, created the Church Multiplication Network (CMN). Thus the goal for 2011 is 365 new churches in the USA. “The Holy Spirit is calling us back to the core mission of reaching lost people,” says CMN Director Steve Pike. Decisions are being made to go to the harder places. Church planters are going into cities where it1s economically depressed; some of these areas are dangerous. Pike says they have developed a robust church planters training programme, working together in teams of planters.

Source: Churplantingnetwork.ag.org

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Timothy 4:2

PRAISE: God that churches are returning to their core values of reaching the lost. Pray for huge mission outreach.

Growth Key: Pass on What You Learn | 303 | Report 31

When talking to people around the world who are involved in church planting, they all stress the importance of people passing on what they are learning. Curtis Sergeant, who saw a church planting movement in China, talks about the importance of discipleship chains – whenever someone learns something, they are responsible to pass it on to at least two other people, who in turn pass it on to two more. Evangelistic Bible study is one of the key ways of leading people to Christ. But then they are asked the question: ‘Who do you know who needs to hear this?’ By passing on what they are learning to others, the Kingdom spreads quickly.

Source: Joel News International; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Peter 3:14-16

PRAY: That every Christian may be a “passer on”.

2,000 Years of Resistance to the Gospel | 303 | Report 27

With over a billion people, India is the fastest growing nation on earth. It has more than 2,500 people groups, speaking 1,600 languages & dialects. Despite the economic growth of recent years, India remains a very needy country: 70% of the population cannot read or write; over 740 million Indians live in villages with no basic amenities; 35% of school-aged children are not attending school, while the centuries-old caste system condemns hundreds of millions of Indians to a life of degrading jobs and social invisibility.
But the greatest need of India is spiritual: with 330 million objects of worship, Indians are looking anywhere and everywhere for spiritual meaning and purpose; idol worship and superstition have an iron-like grip over many lives. But God is at work in India today, mainly through the efforts of thousands of indigenous Christian workers across all India. And India’s people are responding.
Sadavir is one example – he lived in fear for his life, ever since he heard that someone had cast a curse on him and his family. He stopped going to work, hardly ate any food, and he avoided his family during the day. Sadavir was terrified he would die or that some dreadful disease would be inflicted on his wife and their two children. Then a Mission India Church Planter named Kamya visited their house.
Kamya started visiting with Sadavir early every morning, praying for him and sharing the Word of God. Eventually, he accepted Christ into his heart! A change came over him – for the first time he realised that he didn’t have to be afraid of the powers of witchcraft as a child of God.
Sadavir went back to work – this time without fear. His wife is encouraged to see that her husband is not only back to his usual self, but that he is also full of a new joy! Now Sadavir attends church, and he was recently baptised. Stories like this are being repeated every day all over India.

Mission India; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Isaiah 43:18-20

PRAISE: God for what He is doing through His people all over India. Pray for Christ’s light to shine!

Spain: A Tale of Two Church Plants | 303 | Report 8

In 2001 American missionary Ross Rohde began planting house churches in Spain and Portugal. All these churches began by first gathering a core of Christians. “But I don’t know of a single person who came to the Lord,” says Ross. A few years later he joined a team in Madrid with a different strategy. They started churches by gathering a core of interested non-Christians. “I’m not sure how many people came to Christ in the following nine months but, in one gathering, we had about 110 new converts. We planted about 30 churches among non-Christians. I’ve learned many lessons in church planting, but the most important one is: don’t ever start a church by gathering Christians! You’ve started on the wrong foot! Jesus formed a core of disciples, soon to be apostles. From the start, Jesus’ plan was to train this group in expanding apostolic ministry,” Ross says.

Source: Joel News International

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 10:1-2

PRAISE: God that in this nation where the Gospel has been slow to penetrate, there are many who are open to receive the simple message of Christ.

Gospel Vision for Central Africa | 2nd September 2010

US Anglicans Plan 1,000 Churches | 3rd May 2010

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) separated from the Episcopal Church of USA (ECUSA) less than a year ago on account of ECUSA’s support for gay ordinations. The breakaway parishes have established their own North American province as they sought to establish a traditionally Anglican and Biblically-centred body (that would still be tied to the worldwide Anglican Communion).

While ACNA continues to try to gain recognition from the rest of the global body, the conservative group has placed much of its focus on the ambitious vision to reach more people in North America with the Good News of Jesus. In February, ACNA’s Archbishop Duncan reported that there are now more than 800 churches in the ACNA and they are moving with greater momentum to answer the call of planting 1,000 new churches.

Missiologist Ed Stetzer offered the following advice: “Church planting,” he stressed, “is not the goal but the tool. The goal is the glory of God and the redemption of people.” Currently, ACNA is training planters and releasing teams into neighbourhoods, apartment complexes and other areas to spread the Gospel. ACNA stresses that church planting is no longer “for the elite superstars of the clerical ranks.” Rather, it is a work of the body of Christ.

Source: Christian Post, American Anglican Council

BIBLE STUDY: Colossians 1:27-28

PRAISE: God that faithful Anglicans are moving forward in Gospel proclamation. Pray for real renewal and growth rooted in God’s Word.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/04/02/us-anglicans-plan-1000-churches-3rd-may-2010/

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